Knebel learned plenty from K-Rod
The Journal Sentinel’s Todd Rosiak caught up with Milwaukee Brewers closer Corey Knebel to discuss his low-key personality, his bullpen mentors and why he considers himself to be an adrenaline junkie. Knebel, 26, is 2-1 with a 4.11 ERA, a team-best 14 saves and 41 strikeouts in 32 appearances (301⁄3innings). He signed a one-year, $3.65 million contract with Milwaukee on Jan. 12 to avoid arbitration.
Q. There are a lot of big personalities on this team, but you probably wouldn’t be included on that list. Are you low-key by nature?
A. Yeah. I don’t usually like anyone really knowing about everything, I guess is how it is. It’s how it’s always kind of been. I just stay quiet and stay to myself and stay happy. That’s it.
Q. But you’re a professional athlete in a high-profile role as a major-league closer. Isn’t it tough to maintain that?
A. Yeah, but it’s different. When you’re wearing a hat, everyone sees you differently. So when you walk around without a hat on, nobody
really notices you unless you’re a Ryan Braun or someone like that. I just try to stay under the radar. Go around, try and be normal outside of the park.
Q. Are you uncomfortable being in the limelight?
A. No. Being out there in that situation, it’s got it’s ups and downs. It’s kind of one of those things where the game’s on the line, it’s make-or-break. You’re going to blow some. And when you do, it’s upsetting and I’m going to be pissed. ... We were supposed to win the game and I blew it. Give me a couple minutes to go shower, go run it off, and it’s over with. I just like to forget things. It’s not comfortable for me. It’s a big job out there. I know I’m in the spotlight. It’s just one of those things. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of perks to it.
Q. You brought it up, so I’ll ask. How long do you carry a blown save around with you? A half-hour? Hour? A day?
A. Honestly, it just depends. It’s always going to be there. I can tell you all the saves I’ve blown, but I can’t tell you all the saves that I’ve gotten. It’s just different. Those are the ones that stay with you. I can’t tell you every part, but I’d say if I come in and I’ve blown a save, I’m pissed. I don’t care. You don’t need to hide that you’re pissed. We should have won the game; it’s my bad. Change quick, go run, go flush it out and then most of the time when I shower, that’s when it’s all gone. So probably 15-20 minutes after, it’s gone.
Q. You’ve been a closer both at the University of Texas and for the Brewers. Is there a certain mind-set that a closer has that’s different from other relievers or other players?
A. It’s crazy. In college, yeah, it’s a different mind-set. I started in high school and I was free and easy. I thought
a lot because I had to go seven innings so I had to make sure, “I’ve got to get this one inside on this guy, I’ve got to work away the next at-bat.” When I started relieving in college, it was a lot easier to not think at all and just go in there and throw as hard as I could. That’s what I did in college. I don’t think a lot of people could do it in college. There’s a select few. But in pro ball? I think there’s a good amount of guys in the ’pen that could (close) for us. Because pro ball in itself is a different mind-set. You see it with a lot of guys that grow up in the minor leagues. You’ve got to have that killer instinct because you want to get here. And now you’re in the big leagues and you don’t want to leave; you want to stay. Everybody’s got that edge — especially in our ’pen. (Jeremy Jeffress) has done it, (Josh) Hader has done it, I’ve done it, (Matt) Albers has done it, (Joakim) Soria has done it. Taylor Williams can do it. Everyone in our ’pen can do it. And I think that’s deadly. Closing is a different part of the game, but I guarantee you every one of them can do it.
Q. You were able to watch Francisco Rodriguez up close in your first year with the Brewers in 2015. He’s one of the best closers ever, ranking fourth all time with 437 career saves. What did you learn from him?
A. I’ve seen him, in Pittsburgh, one night he had a save. The next night it went into extra innings, the 10th inning, he had a save opportunity and he came in and (Gregory) Polanco hit a homer off him. Blown save. Tied the game or whatever. He came in and he was pissed. He threw his glove in his locker and he went up to everybody that had just pitched and said, “Hey, nice job, nice job.” He took the blame right there. “You all did great. I should’ve gotten that.” Then he goes in the weight room, comes back and that was it. He wasn’t pissed off anymore. I talked to him a lot and asked him, “How do you get through it?” And he’s like, “Dude, it’s 162 games, I’ve been playing for a long time. You’re going to blow saves. Get over it. You’ve got to go again tomorrow. You’ve got to be ready.” And he was ready every single day. I saw him go four days in a row, and that’s tough to do as a reliever. It’s tough to pitch two days in a row. Four games straight and he dominated. A lot of the stuff I do now (I got from him) . ... I was a rookie student watching him. I was mesmerized. I got a lot of stuff from him. He was my favorite.
Q. Can you even fathom 437 saves? A. I had 39 saves (last year) and that’s kind of like a low number to K-Rod. He was going every year with 40, 50-plus. He got his job done. That was it. Every day was life or death, and he knew that every hitter was out to get him. And he wasn’t going to let them win.
Q. Switching gears, you became a father for the first time in November. How has that changed you?
A. I don’t really know. I haven’t changed too much. She’s the sparkle in my eye. She’s someone I’m always thinking of. It’s been great. FaceTiming her, seeing her. Playing, you always have that feeling of playing to win. But I’m also playing for my daughter and making sure I keep doing my job and keep my job. Keep performing and doing whatever I have to do to make sure she grows up in a great environment. I love it and I want her to be able to experience it too when she gets a little older. Watching what I do and being proud of daddy (smiles). It’s fun to know I’ve got a little angel kind of watching over me. It’s nice. I enjoy it.
Q. You and your wife named your daughter Ledger. How did you come up with that?
A. That was all Danielle’s idea. We had a couple names picked out, boy or girl, and then maybe a couple months before she was due Danielle was like, “I like Ledger.” So I said, “OK, we’ll go with Ledger.” And it was Ledger Grey. Then we found out I made the all-star team, and right when I made it she was like, “I think I like Ledger Staar better,” since we found out at the (gender) reveal and that night we found out I was an all-star. It just fit that we found out that we were having Ledger, so let’s go with Ledger Staar. And I like it. I like Ledger Staar better than Ledger Grey. It’s nice. That’s another thing for her when she grows up, to know why Staar is her middle name. Seeing what daddy does. It’s a great name (Danielle) picked out.
Q. You’re a native Texan and so is Chase Anderson. You went to Texas and he went to Oklahoma. That’s a huge rivalry. How does that work between the two of you being teammates now? Is there a lot of trash talking?
A. Of course there is. He wanted to go to Texas, but OU got him (laughs). And now especially that my pitching coach from college, Skip (Johnson), is now the head coach at OU. Well, there you go again. He’s kind of winning this one. “Everything is better at OU, obviously, if your coach is leaving Texas to go there.” He’s winning right now. But Texas is better.
Q. Chase has been pretty vocal about how much he and his wife love the Milwaukee area. Do you agree with him on that?
A. I love everything about it. To be honest, I love beer and I love cheese and in Milwaukee you’ve got plenty of that. And the fans. Not even the fans, just walking around town, around Brookfield, we’re going to dinner or going to breakfast — whatever it is — wherever you go, people are respectable. They’re genuinely nice people just like in Texas. So it feels like home. Nothing against any of these other cities we go to, but you go to New York, you go to Boston, you go to L.A., their driving, they’re disrespectful, they don’t hold doors open for women. In Milwaukee, everyone’s nice. It’s like Southern hospitality up north. It’s a great city. I love Milwaukee. I love everything about it. I love Brookfield. That’s where we live now. Downtown, Wauwatosa — every place I’ve been has had its perks. It’s a great place.